LIMERICK is one of a number of locations across the country to have a new Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) team that can be accessed through GPs for primary care settings.
Mental Health Minister Mary Butler announced that the HSE is recruiting six new teams nationwide as part of a major expansion of national suicide prevention and crisis response services.
SCANs are a critical safety‑net for people in suicidal crisis, providing rapid, specialist assessment in primary care settings for people in suicidal distress who present to their GP.
Each SCAN team is made up of two senior mental health nurses at clinical nurse specialist grade under the clinical governance of the National Clinical Programme for Self-harm and Suicide-related Ideation.
Minister Butler said “the expansion of the Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse service with six new teams is a priority initiative under Budget 2026, bringing the total number of teams to 21 across 18 counties. These new teams will strengthen community‑based crisis supports, improve access to specialist assessment, and provide faster, more coordinated care for individuals in suicidal crisis.”
A new SCAN team for children and young people is also being recruited for Linn Dara Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for young people in West Dublin, Kildare, and West Wicklow.
Minister Butler said the Government would “continue the investment in the SCAN service in future estimates processes to ensure we achieve full national coverage for the service for both adults and children and young people.”